Freelance Writer University: How To Deliver A Project In Time

Procrastination is one of the most common personal failings. It can lead us to do more poorly in school and miss out on wonderful opportunities. In the world of freelancing, however, it can mean the difference between getting paid and growing broke. Worse yet, it can ruin your reputation and lead to lower paying jobs or none at all due to the fierceness of the competition. Here are a few rules you can follow to help you deliver your projects on time.

Choose your projects wisely

Look at the scope of the project carefully and make an educated guess about how long it will take you to accomplish. Be aware that some projects have unexpected aspects that can double, triple or even quintuple the workload while the price remains fixed. If you take such projects on you can find yourself unable to finish on time with barely any money at stake. These are rookie mistakes but they can be avoided if you are very careful with the projects you bid for and accept.

Know your schedule

Aside from your freelance work you have a life to live. If you have responsibilities to take care of that remove chunks of time from your schedule try not to budget your work week as if these time-slots were available for use. You will find yourself trying to accomplish the impossible and failing to do either task.

Don’t get distracted

If you have a certain time period dedicated to finishing a task, don’t get caught up in other activities. You are more likely to face this problem when the deadline seems far away but as less time remains, reality sets in and you may feel the impulse to rush to completion. This can result in substandard work which can prevent you from getting repeat clients.

Expect the unexpected

You need to have a backup plan. There will be times when you have done everything right and then a power outage fries your laptop at the last moment. Back your work up frequently onto password protected cloud storage if at all possible and think up a few other things that can go wrong so you can plan for them too. It may seem pessimistic but it can stop you from needing to submit and not knowing how to at a crucial point.

Freelancing requires above all else, a high level of self motivation and with this you will find yourself submitting on time consistently to the delight of your clients.